Tide or backwater gate



C. H. DODD.

TIDE 0R BACKWATER GATE. APPLICATION man MAY 25, 1918.

1,334,354. Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

1. Fig.2.

I I IE I 9 lnvenlor. 7 Charles H. Dodo! b mWW "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. DODD, OLE BOEBTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGINOR OF ONE-HALF 'IO GEORGE H. GIBBY, 0F l/VINllHROP, MASSACHUSETTS.

TIDE OR BAGKWATER GATE.

Application filed May 25,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, Cinemas H. Donn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Tide or Backwater. Gates, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to tide or back water gates such as are used in sewers and other conduits that are arranged to discharge into tide water for the purpose of preventing the tide from backing up in the sewer or other conduit, and has particular reference to backwater gates of the type illustrated in United States Patents No. 642,624, dated February 6, 1900, and No. 801,654l, dated October 10, 1905, and which comprise a plurality of parallel wooden strips connected together by bolts or tierods that extend transversely thereof.

When a gate of this nature is put into use and becomes submerged in water the wooden strips swell more or less. Hence in the manufacture of such gates it has been customary to assemble the wooden strips so as to leave small spaces between them su'l'licient to permit of the necessary swelling of the wood without injury to the gate. As a result when the gate is first installed it is not tight because of the existence of the spaces between the strips and it does not become tight until the wood has swelled sufficiently to take up said spaces. Moreover, some wood will swell to a greater extent than other wood and hence it is not always practicable to assemble the pieces formingthe gate and give them the correct spacinq so that when the strips swell the gate will be tight but will not be subjected to any undue strain.

It is the object of my invention to provide a novel gate of this character which is constructed so that the strips are in contact when the gate is first assembled, thus making a tight gate but which allows any swelling of the strips when they are submerged in water without subjecting the gate to any strain.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a novel construction of gate having means for readily adjusting the tie-rods and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

Serial No. 236,612.

having other novel and advantageous fea tures, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In order to give an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described, after which the novel features will. be pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a front view of: a backwater gate embodying my invention;

Fig; 2 is a section on the line 22, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows one of the friction clamping members;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view through the valve seat.

1 indicates a sewer or any other conduit and 2 indicates generally the backwater gate which is arranged to prevent the tide water from backing up in the sewer. This gate is pivotally connected at its upper edge to two links 3 which in turn are pivoted at t to suitable brackets 5. The gate rests against a valve seat 6 secured to a wooden framing 7 that is set into the sewer. The gate 2 is ot that type which comprises a plurality of wooden strips 8 that extend parallel. to each other and are confined between a lower head 9 and an upper head 10 and are held in position by means of tie-rods 11 which extend from one head to the other and extend transversely through the strips. The apertures in the strips through which the rods 11 extend are preferably made slightly larger than the rods to give flexibility to the gate.

The construction thus far described is or may be all as usual in backwater gates of this type and forms no part of my present invention.

When the gate is first made the strips of wood 8 are dry, but as soon as it is put into use and becomes immersed in water, then they will swell. In Order to provide for the swelling of the strips without injuring the gate, 1 have provided a novel frictional clamping means for cooperating with the tie-rods 11 in holding the heads 9 and 10 in proper spaced relation. The lower end of each tie-rod 11 is shown as screw-threaded into a nut 12 carried in the lower head 9 and the upper end of each tie-rod has applied thereto a split collar 13 which is constructed to frictionally engage the tie-rod directly above the upper head 10. Each split collar 13 is provided with a clamping screw 14 by which it may be clamped to the tie-rod. The tie-rod is of sufiicient length to project above the collar 13 a suitable dis tance and may be provided at its upper end with a squared head 15. 16' indicates a Washer inserted between each collar and the upper head 10.

In making agate the collars 13 will be applied to the tie-rods and then the tie-rods will be inserted through the apertures in the assembled strips 8 and lower head 9, and the nuts 12 will be screwed to the lower ends of the tie-rods. The collars 13 will then be adjusted on the tie-rods so that they engage the upper heads 10, and the clamping screws 14 will be set up to produce the proper friction between the collars and the tie-rods. The gate when finished will thus be tight since no spaces will exist between the strips.

. bled relation while When the gate is submerged in water and the strips swell the swelling action will force the collars l3 upwardly on the rods 11 and thus the swelling-action takes place without any injury tot the gate. The clamping screws 14 will be so adjusted as to provide the necessary friction between the collars and the tie-rod to hold the parts in assemswell.

. If the wood shrin (s and it is desirable to tighten the gate this can be done by turning up the nuts 12.

It is desirable that there should be no threaded projections extending from the lower edge of the gate because rags, paper or other material is apt to catch on such projections and prevent the closing of the gate. Accordingly, I make the nuts 12 with the hub portions 17 which extend up into sockets 18 formed in the lower head 9.

' These extended hubs furnish ample means for engaging the screw-threaded portion of the tie rods even though the tie-rods do not project through the nutsand hence there permitting the wood to are no projecting lower ends of the tie-rods on which any paper, rags, etc., can collect.

The valve seat 6 is preferably made of the shape shown in Fig. 5, that is, with the thickened central portion and with the wings 19 at each edge. The nails 20 which hold the valve seat in place are driven through the wings l9, and as all the wear on the valve seat comes on the thickened portion the nails will never come in contact with the gate and thus prevent it from closing tightly.

I claim:

1. A tide or backwater gate comprising a, plurality of parallel wooden strips, tie-rods extending through said strips, and means associated with the tie-r0ds for clamping the strips together, said means comprising a nut on one end of each tie-rod and a collar adjustably clamped to the other end. of each tie-rod and capable of sliding thereon as the wooden strips expand.

2. In a tide or backwater gate, the co1nbination with upper and lower heads, of a plurality of parallel wooden strips situated between said heads, tie-rods extending transversely through the heads and strips, each tie-rod having means at its lower end to engage the lower head of the gate and a split collar thereon at its upper end and engaging the upper head of the gate and a clamping screw for varying the frictional engagement of each collar with its rod.

3. In a tide or backwater gate, the combination with upper and lower heads, of a plurality of parallel wooden strips situated between said heads, t1e-rods extending transversely through said heads and strips, a collar frictionally held on each tie-rod engaging the upper head, and a nut on each tierod engaging the lower head, each nut having an elongated interiorly screw-tlneaded I hub and the lower head having recesses in its lower edge in which said hubs are received. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES H. DODD. 

